One not overthink the whole show here.
 
The key is getting a good compound, apply and enjoy.

^^^ Exactly.......which TIM is best..which method is best..too little ..too much....all "over thought"....think I have about 4 tubes of grease presently in my tool box....I always seem to select whichever one is opened ...so I dont have 3 opened tubes of grease going ;)

great post! thanks!

Great review, thanks man.

I've always gone w/a single line on GPUs and it's worked out quite well. Nice job OP.

 
Thanks for that great demos ChristoJ.
 
I always do the 'tinting', although my method is covering a finger in gladwrap and then rubbing an almost invisible layer of TIM on both surfaces.
 
I usually use the spreader method after that, using a thin credit card to spread the TIM (actually it's one of my medical insurance cards, which is a lot thinner than a standard credit card). Seems to work well every time for me.
 
After viewing your demos, I might try a slightly elongated pea size next time and see how that goes. Certainly easier than spreading with a card.
 
Just an additional note; the type of TIM used can make quite a difference to the application method used. I was a regular user of one of the Shin-Etsu pastes a few years back, and while it had very good conductivity, the stuff was tacky and hard to apply, and that is when I started using the spreader method because the pea or rice grain method didn't always spread fully or evenly with the tackier TIM, even after a solid break-in period (meaning a good number of hours blasting Prime95). Last couple of years I've been using Arctic MX-4, which is a lot more forgiving to work with, so I think the pea method may work well with this thinner TIM.
 
Cheers.
 

End of the day, all depends on which paste you are using. Some are better spread, others are better left to spread themselves.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRytGgmdeQM

Thanks OP for the post and great pics etc. Very interesting indeed. Must have taken quite a bit of time to put all that together and post in a clear, interesting, accurate way.

I have always done the pea sized amount depending on the size of the die I was working with and it has treated me well over many years.
 

Great information and post.